Ancient Turkish Site Mendik Tepe Unearths Structures 7,000 Years Older Than Stonehenge
Discovery near Göbekli Tepe suggests a more complex Neolithic past with monumental architecture predating known sites
Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey announced the uncovering of a cluster of structures at Mendik Tepe, a hilltop site near Göbekli Tepe in Şanlıurfa Province, that could push back the date of organized settlements and monumental building by roughly 7,000 years. Excavations at Mendik Tepe began in 2024 as part of Türkiye's Taş Tepeler Project, a broad survey of a dozen Neolithic sites in the Fertile Crescent.
Initial finds describe upright rectangular stones and oval-shaped structures surrounded by substantial stone walls, along with fragments of decorated stone vessels. Unlike Göbekli Tepe's famed T-shaped pillars, Mendik Tepe appears to reflect a different architectural idiom and social function. Smaller buildings, measuring a few feet across, may have served storage or food preparation needs, while larger structures rise to about 13 to 16 feet in height and exhibit meticulous stonework that suggests ritual or communal use. The discoveries span buildings used for storage, dwellings, and multiple spaces that could have served ceremonial purposes, signaling a socially complex community.
Project coordinator Dr. Necmi Karul called Mendik Tepe an extremely important site for understanding the first settlers in the region. Lead excavator Professor Douglas Baird said the team intends to continue this year to parse how the structures functioned, specifically whether the smaller buildings were storage or food-preparation spaces and whether the larger ones served as residences or as sites for communal or ritual activity. The researchers emphasize that these questions are central to unlocking the site's broader story and its role in early Neolithic life.
The Mendik Tepe discoveries fit into Türkiye's Taş Tepeler Project, which encompasses about a dozen Neolithic sites across Şanlıurfa, including Göbekli Tepe, Karahantepe, Çakmak Tepe, and Sayburç. These sites, dating back roughly 11,500 years, are reshaping scholarly views of how early human groups organized labor, religion, and daily life, and are contributing to a broader narrative about the emergence of monumental architecture in the Fertile Crescent. Preliminary assessments suggest Mendik Tepe may date to the earliest phases of the Neolithic, potentially predating Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe by millennia and positioning it at the cusp of the Neolithic Revolution that saw humans adopt agriculture and settle into permanent communities.
Geographically, Mendik Tepe sits on a hill with an elevation of about 3,346 feet (1,020 meters) in a sparsely vegetated landscape characterized by a Mediterranean climate. The site is viewed as a possible precursor to Göbekli Tepe, which features a mix of monumental megaliths carved with animal representations and is widely considered among the oldest man-made structures. The emerging portrait of Mendik Tepe — with smaller rectangular stones and a variety of functional spaces — suggests a more nuanced early settlement pattern than previously assumed for the era, with ritual and domestic activities potentially intertwined within the same community framework.
Scholars caution that dating Mendik Tepe remains provisional as ongoing excavations, stratigraphic analyses, and radiocarbon dating are pursued. Still, the findings align with a growing view that the Fertile Crescent hosted a mosaic of early settlements connected through networks of exchange, ritual practice, and proto-agriculture. The broader research program continues to yield insights into how early societies organized labor, stored surplus resources, and managed water, contributing to the long arc of Neolithization across the region.